Qantas confirms Emirates talks, but won’t say where they stand

An alliance with Emirates would give Qantas passengers access to the world's largest international network through Emirates' Dubai hub. (Rob Finlayson)

Qantas has confirmed that Emirates is among “a number of airlines” with which it is discussing potential alliances.

The statement, released to the ASX, came in response to a report in The Financial Review claiming that Qantas and Emirates are close to a landmark tie-up that would substantially transform Qantas’s beleaguered international operations.

The Financial Review followed up that report today saying Qantas officials had accepted that the airline’s longstanding relationship with British Airways would be a casualty of any deal with Dubai based Emirates. Like the earlier story, that report cited unnamed “sources close to the situation.”

In its statement, Qantas said strengthening alliance partnerships was a pillar of the five year strategy it unveiled last year.

“At any one time Qanas may be in contact with a wide range of companies about potential commercial cooperation,” the statement said.

“Qantas’s policy is not to comment on the nature or status of these discussions. Should Qantas have a material announcement to make, it would be disclosed to the market in the normal way at an appropriate time.”